State board of education election seen as clash of culture, values

Updated 7:20 am, Sunday, October 14, 2012

AUSTIN - Two years since a conservative sweep of the State Board of Education, November's election carries high stakes, with all 15 seats on the ballot and the instructional direction of 5 million Texas school children in the balance.

The divide over the issues of history and science, political and religious ideology is deep. One side views the fight for control of the board as nothing less than a cultural clash. The other sees the November contests as critical choices to protect conservative values.

The board determines curriculum standards and textbooks for Texas' K-12 public school system and controls the $26 billion Permanent School Fund.

The next board will select new science and social studies/history texts to reflect updated science curriculum standards.

"That's where all these culture war battles will come to a head over what students learn about evolution, about civil rights, about church and state separation," said Dan Quinn, spokesman for the Texas Freedom Network, an Austin-based group that monitors the board of education from a more liberal angle. "All those battles will come in 2013 and 2014, and the textbooks will be in the classrooms for a generation."

"Will we have history textbooks that teach facts based on real scholars," Quinn asked, "or opinions based on the political beliefs of whoever controls the board?"

Republican members hold a 11-4 advantage, and few expect big changes in the makeup of the board.

Board elections gained new attention following passionate debates on science standards and social studies in 2010, said Jonathan Saenz, president of Texas Values, formerly known as the Liberty Institute, which monitors the board from a more conservative perspective.

"More people want to see the values of Texas reflected in their elected officials, and that's no different with the State Board of Education," Saenz said. "You will continue to see more conservatives who feel very strongly about their conservative beliefs get involved in the election process."